St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-10-13

a0e nau q gOOO reputation from Tue
first that caused them to be put into
every critical place until, as was said,
their reputation was like to be the
death of them.
Their peculiar GOODNESS and indie
pendent method of fighting made Yer
mont soldiers very effective. They
were already to fight and to take every
possible advantage of ground. They
liked to have supports behind them but
never fiinched for want of them. They
always felt that they could whip any
rebels in the front and only became
nervous when they heard firing in their
rear. Each man new that hew as not
going to run and that the rest of the
brigade was just like him, and so each
man could give his whole attention to
loading and firing. The old brigade
was never driven from a position by a
direct front attack.
Another advantage of their peculiar
temperament they were never panic
stricken, nor were they ever carried
away by panics among other troops.
Panic-stricken regiments from the front
might be driven by and through their
ranks with pale faces and terrible tales
of disaster, with the tide of battle roll
ing in upon them, but the VermOnters
simply got ready for action and often
drove back their frightened comrades
at the point of the bayOnet. A strik-
ing instance of this was related that
occurred at Salem church in '63.
Another characteristic mentioned
ly scared and when on picket duty
p,,t odd cd
to their other good qualities as soldiers
and supplementing them all was in
tense and logged determination. They
did not fight for glory, money or love
of adventure, though fond of all these
things. They fought for principle, to
defend nation. They never thought
of failure. They never went into bat
tie Boosting or free from dread, but
they would die before they would run,
knowing that every other man of the
regiment was of the same mind. Nu-
merOus instances were mentioned
where the more prominent of the char
acteristics of VermOnt's soldiers were
displayed and the address closed with
some of the practical lessons to be
drawn from them.
After the addr IS on motion of Col
Seaver the thanks of the society were
extended Capt. Montgomery and it was
voted to brevet him Col. of the Sd
Vermont. Then came the banquet and
tOasts.
About us were seated at the tables
and the supper was served by Land
lord KrOgman of the St. JOhnsbury
house. DR.. G.. B. Billiard was toast
master presiding in his usual happy
manner and keeping his promise good
that each speech should be better than
the preceding one. The first toast was
''Vermont stands prominent among
all her sister states and we have reason
to be proud of her history both civic
and military" Col. Pingree responded
with an eloquent tribute to VermOnt's
war governors, specially eulOgizing
Erastus Fairbanks and his work. The
Vermont soldiers returned to an hon
Ored citizenship and he believed that
another crisis and another call would
reveal the existence of the same spirit
among the young men that prevailed
in 81.
Toast. "The legal profession. The
war developed more learned judges
and lawyers than civil life" A letter
was read from Col. Veazey stating that
he could not be present because of Sc
rious illness in his family. Hon. II. G.
Bates was called upon to respond and
paid an eloquent tribute to Judge
Veazey and to the old Sd regimen t.
He made rOusing speech.
The next toast was to Music, and
"Father" Locke, the ballad maker and
singer of the war responded with tell
ing speech, full of war Incidents, and
then he sang "Ulysses leads the Van''
with something of his old time power,
the comrades joining in the chorus.
He was applauded to the echo and
sang till his voice gave out.
The next toast was "The Irish SOL
dier," responded to by that typical
Irish soldier John Mcdonald, who de-
clared that the Irish soldier did moth =
ing but his duty in return for the bless
ings he received from this country.
He drew a graphic picture of Serg.
Thomas Plunkett's herOism at Freder-
icksburg and his speech as whole was
one of the best of the evening.
"The prisoners of the war. We still
think no tongue can tell or pen depict
their sufferings," responded to by Capt.
French of Lebanon, N. H., who was in
rebel prisons for nearly year and was
given a cordial reception by his old
comrades as he referred to the peculiar
sufferings of those days.
"The rank and file. They made the
bridge with their manned and dead
bodies over which many live general
marched to glory" responded to by
c. H. Woodbury. of Concord, who
spoke of the cheerfulness with which
the private soldiers did their duty and
the great work achieved by them.
"The Old Brigade. More fighting,
more wounds, more courage, more
deaths than any otheritroops from Yer
mont" was responded to by Col. Seav-
er, who said that he wasn't there to
make speech but to greet old COM
rades, and the thing of which he was
most proud in his life was the fact that
he had once commanded the old Sd
regiment.
"The G. A. r. and the flag of our
country around which all old soldiers
gather" responded to by Department
Commander Blodgett, who, after re-
ferring to the days of the old Sd in
camp delivered an eloquent tribute to
the old Sd, to the Vermont soldiery
and closed with an earnest plea for all
old soldiers to join the u. A. r.
During the exercises the band dis
cOursed excellent music and was voted
the thanks of the regiment for their